In 2003, then 43-year-old Janet was preparing for breast implant surgery. She was intending the surgery to restore symmetry to her breasts after having had a lumpectomy on a suspicious mass in her right breast 15 years earlier. She had been diagnosed with fibrocystic breasts, and Janet always felt that her breasts were "lumpy." In self-exams she was often worried that she would not be able to tell the difference. Regular mammograms remained clear and she stayed mindful and diligent about self-exam for 15 years.
Shortly before her scheduled surgery, Janet felt a lump in her left breast that felt different from the fibrocystic tissue. She realized she had been slightly behind in her regular mammogram and went immediately to have the images taken. A nurse practitioner indicated that the lump she felt was likely a fluid-filled cyst that could be aspirated, but three other spots on the mammogram created cause for concern. Particularly suspicious was an area that had begun to branch into a Y shape, raising her BIRADS rating (the rating system that is used to describe the level of concern in a mammogram finding) to 4. A 4 BIRADS rating generally calls for a biopsy of the suspicious area, and a high level of concern.
Janet scheduled a core needle biopsy to examine the tissue. She was unable to get an appointment for three weeks after her mammogram. With great concern, and a long waiting period ahead of her, Janet was scared and each day before the biopsy was more terrifying. "The waiting is the most awful part. I couldn't even have a test done for three weeks, and then would wait longer to obtain results. It was almost unbearable," she said.
Fortunately, Janet was able to schedule a BSGI procedure with the Dilon 6800 at a site in Washington, D.C. Only 10 days after her suspicious mammogram, Janet underwent the nuclear imaging procedure, and within an hour of sitting for the test, was given the answers she was looking for: she was cancer-free according to the Dilon 6800 BSGI results. "The test was simple, comfortable, painless - much more comfortable than a mammogram. I felt very comfortable with the results and reassured by the data. I felt that if there had been anything malignant there, then we would have seen it," she said.
Janet was still to proceed with the stereotactic core-needle biopsy, due to the extremely suspicious nature of the mammogram results. Even though Janet felt comfortable that she was cancer-free, a biopsy was still called for to learn what was causing the tissue changes in her breast. She went in for the biopsy as planned, and had an unfortunate and rare complication with the procedure. As the needle was entering her breast to retrieve a third sample - from the area deemed "most concerning" by her physician - the needle nicked an artery in her breast. The bleeding that resulted meant that the biopsy would go incomplete and a sample could not be drawn until she healed weeks later. "If I had not had the nuclear imaging procedure with the Dilon machine, I would have been out of my head terrified to have to wait that much longer. Having received the results from the Dilon nuclear imaging procedure, I felt such a sense of calm. If I had not had the BSGI procedure, I would not have had the confidence to wait for a biopsy without feeling scared. I felt that if there was something cancerous there, it would have come through in the image and I was able to focus on my children and my life, worrying less about what we might find," Janet said.
Janet's biopsy results proved negative for cancer. They did however show some cellular changes for which doctors could not identify a reason. Janet is now considered at higher risk for developing cancer. Having also proceeded with receiving breast implants, BSGI could prove to be an important part of Janet's screening routine, in addition to regular mammograms. Besides the fibrocystic breast tissue, Janet's implants also have the potential to obscure what a mammogram can detect. The BSGI procedure sees cancerous cells, regardless of their position in the breast. "I would recommend the BSGI procedure to anyone with a concern. When you are faced with the possibility of breast cancer, you want quick answers. The immediacy was the most beneficial part of BSGI. Waiting for biopsy and the results is truly nerve-wracking, to put it lightly," she said.